Science Quest 7 &; 8 introduce hypotheses in Chapter 1: A hypothesis is an educated guess that can be tested by an experiment, further observations or measurement
A hypothesis is often included in a scientific report — usually under the ‘aim’ heading,
immediately after the reason for carrying out the experiment. A hypothesis is an educated guess about what might happen in an
experiment.
Tips for thinking about and writing good hypotheses.
1. A hypothesis is a statement, not a question. The hypothesis is an educated, testable prediction about what will happen.
2. Make it clear. A good hypothesis is written in clear and simple language. Don’t say “I think…”
3. Make sure your hypothesis is "testable"; To support or disprove your hypothesis, you need to be able to do an
experiment and take measurements or make observations to see how two variables are related. You should
also be able to repeat your experiment over and over again, if necessary.
4. To create a "testable"; hypothesis make sure you have: Included the independent and dependent variables in the hypothesis statement. (This helps ensure that your statement is specific enough. do this by writing an IF ....THEN statement eg
Here is an example : design an experiment that would help you determine that thin paper will burn quicker than thick paper. Hypothesis
IF the paper is thin THEN it will burn in a shorter time
IVC Independent Variable changed by the scientist )is the paper types
DVM (Dependent Variable Measured by the scientist) is the time it takes to burn
CVSTS (Controlled variable stays the same)- paper size , distance form flame
Activity Design an experiment for each of the following then identify the IVC DVM CVSTS then write an hypothesis in the IF …. THEN … form
1 Trying to see if fertiliser affects the growth of fungi 2. trying to determine if the size of the brake pad on your bike makes it stop faster 3. Do fatter bike tyres make a bike stop in a shorter distance 4 do all oils lubricate to the same amount 5. Is the energy released from lollies better than energy from an apple 6. Do all metals react with the same vigorousness 7. Do all organic fuels produce the same amount of energy 8 what is more relaxing to sit on 9. Investigate the increase in large native animals in our local area
A worker on a fish-farm notices that his trout seem to have more fish lice in the summer, when the water levels are low, and
wants to find out why. His research leads him to believe that the amount of oxygen is the reason - fish that are oxygen stressed
tend to be more susceptible to disease and parasites.
He proposes a general hypothesis.
“Water levels affect the amount of lice suffered by rainbow trout.”
This is a good general hypothesis, but it gives no guide to how to design the research or experiment. The hypothesis must be
refined to give a little direction.
“Rainbow trout suffer more lice when water levels are low.”
Now there is some directionality, but the hypothesis is not really testable,
so the final stage is to design an experiment around which research can be designed, a testable hypothesis.
“Rainbow trout suffer more lice in low water conditions because there is less oxygen in the water.”
This is a testable hypothesis - he has established variables, and by measuring the amount of oxygen in the water, eliminating
other controlled variables, such as temperature, he can see if there is a correlation against the number of lice on the fish
Another method (if…then….statements)
“If… (describe a change in the manipulated variable), then… (tell how the responding variable will react to the change),
because…(explain your reasoning or tell why something will happen)”
Manipulated variable: This is the variable that you, the scientist, change or manipulate. This is the “cause” in the experiment and
is the same as the independent variable in math class. Responding variable: This is the variable that “responds” to changes in the manipulated variable. This is the “effect” in an
experiment and is the same as the dependent variable in math class. Controlled variables: These are variables that are kept the same in all experiments to minimize scientific error, and to isolate the
manipulated variable.
Example: Experimental/Problem Question: How does fertilizer affect plant growth?
Hypothesis: If I increase the amount of fertilizer on grass plants, then the grass plants will grow taller, because plants will
have more nutrients to grow taller provided by the fertilizer increase.
code
Science Quest 7 &; 8 introduce hypotheses in Chapter 1: A hypothesis is an educated guess that can be tested by an experiment, further observations or measurement
A hypothesis is often included in a scientific report — usually under the ‘aim’ heading,
immediately after the reason for carrying out the experiment. A hypothesis is an educated guess about what might happen in an
experiment.
(YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHq2tMDk3vY Hypothesis vs Prediction)
Hypotheses Tips (from http://www.sciencebuddies.org/blog/2010/02/a-strong- hypothesis.php)
Tips for thinking about and writing good hypotheses.
1. A hypothesis is a statement, not a question. The hypothesis is an educated, testable prediction about what will happen.2. Make it clear. A good hypothesis is written in clear and simple language. Don’t say “I think…”
3. Make sure your hypothesis is "testable"; To support or disprove your hypothesis, you need to be able to do an
experiment and take measurements or make observations to see how two variables are related. You should
also be able to repeat your experiment over and over again, if necessary.
4. To create a "testable"; hypothesis make sure you have: Included the independent and dependent variables in the hypothesis statement. (This helps ensure that your statement is specific enough.
do this by writing an IF ....THEN statement eg
Here is an example : design an experiment that would help you determine that thin paper will burn quicker than thick paper.
Hypothesis
IF the paper is thin THEN it will burn in a shorter time
IVC Independent Variable changed by the scientist )is the paper types
DVM (Dependent Variable Measured by the scientist) is the time it takes to burn
CVSTS (Controlled variable stays the same)- paper size , distance form flame
Activity
Design an experiment for each of the following
then identify the
IVC
DVM
CVSTS
then write an hypothesis in the
IF …. THEN … form
1 Trying to see if fertiliser affects the growth of fungi
2. trying to determine if the size of the brake pad on your bike makes it stop faster
3. Do fatter bike tyres make a bike stop in a shorter distance
4 do all oils lubricate to the same amount
5. Is the energy released from lollies better than energy from an apple
6. Do all metals react with the same vigorousness
7. Do all organic fuels produce the same amount of energy
8 what is more relaxing to sit on
9. Investigate the increase in large native animals in our local area
An Example of How to Write a Hypothesis (from: https://explorable.com/how-to- write-a- hypothesis)
A worker on a fish-farm notices that his trout seem to have more fish lice in the summer, when the water levels are low, andwants to find out why. His research leads him to believe that the amount of oxygen is the reason - fish that are oxygen stressed
tend to be more susceptible to disease and parasites.
He proposes a general hypothesis.
“Water levels affect the amount of lice suffered by rainbow trout.”This is a good general hypothesis, but it gives no guide to how to design the research or experiment. The hypothesis must be
refined to give a little direction.
“Rainbow trout suffer more lice when water levels are low.”
Now there is some directionality, but the hypothesis is not really testable,
so the final stage is to design an experiment around which research can be designed, a testable hypothesis.“Rainbow trout suffer more lice in low water conditions because there is less oxygen in the water.”
This is a testable hypothesis - he has established variables, and by measuring the amount of oxygen in the water, eliminating
other controlled variables, such as temperature, he can see if there is a correlation against the number of lice on the fish
Another method (if…then….statements)
“If… (describe a change in the manipulated variable), then… (tell how the responding variable will react to the change),
because…(explain your reasoning or tell why something will happen)”
Manipulated variable: This is the variable that you, the scientist, change or manipulate. This is the “cause” in the experiment and
is the same as the independent variable in math class.
Responding variable: This is the variable that “responds” to changes in the manipulated variable. This is the “effect” in an
experiment and is the same as the dependent variable in math class.
Controlled variables: These are variables that are kept the same in all experiments to minimize scientific error, and to isolate the
manipulated variable.
Example: Experimental/Problem Question: How does fertilizer affect plant growth?
Hypothesis: If I increase the amount of fertilizer on grass plants, then the grass plants will grow taller, because plants willhave more nutrients to grow taller provided by the fertilizer increase.